Abstract [en]

The public sphere is a term which historically has been defined in various ways. This has caused the literature on the European public sphere (EPS) to take on many different viewpoints. As shown by previous studies, the literature on this subject has several flaws as well in its operationalization’s as in its conceptualization’s. This bachelor’s thesis sets out to, through a literature review, explore the different conceptualizations of the EPS as well as review whether the field of research has improved in the various areas.

Our findings conclude that many methodological and conceptual issues remain in EPS research and there also seems to be a general lack of discussion and critique against the research’s own approaches. We would also argue that the Habermasian perspective, as well as research with a focus on mass media and an empirical perspective, is too dominant.